The ardor of youth and the aromas of romanticism, tucked safely in the haven of a Cultural Revolution dance troupe, get blown into the wind in Feng Xiaogang’s poignant epic of lithe bodies, fleeting fancies, and the callous weight of China’s turbulent political history. The craft and the critique are as sweeping as they are impeccable.

YOUTH

Tuesday is looking for love, Amanda is searching for family, and Barbie...well, Barbie just can't stay away from trouble. Together, these trans women work their way through the hurdles of the world: the violence, the exploitation, the attitude. And under the direction of Gerardo Calagui, they do so within a refreshing space of romance, warmth, and endless charm.

THOSE LONG HAIRED NIGHTS

A self-parodic comedy of film festival attendees turns, with utter effortlessness by Hong Sang-soo, into a gentle rumination on chance encounters, alternative possibilities, and a spiritual escape best basked under the rays of the French Riviera sun. Kim Min-hee and Isabelle Huppert sing, drink, and shine.

CLAIRE’S CAMERA

20 years after they were together, Attiya confronts Steve, an ex-boyfriend who used to abuse her every day. With Steve’s permission, Attiya films them in conversation as they acknowledge a painful past and lay out a path for healing. Viscerally intimate, A BETTER MAN is an inspiring work of courage with few peers in contemporary personal documentary.

Closing Night Film: A BETTER MAN

Constance Wu stars in this hilarious romp about a lesbian couple’s bacherlorette weekend, when one of the fiancées admits to having never had an orgasm. Talking about sex can be fun, awkward, painful, and liberating, and THE FEELS delivers on all that plus more: an ensemble cast that captures the joyous spontaneity of friendship.

THE FEELS

A teenager confesses to killing her parents and dumping their bodies in a reservoir. The cold, clinical confession startles the policewoman investigating the case and presses her to look more closely. Violence hangs over Cheung King-wai’s Hong Kong like an unmovable fog, as the two women slither into each other’s lives, shaking off layers of guilt, sadness, and emotional fatigue.

SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE MIST

An unfaithful husband returns home to his dispassionate wife, but he’s no longer the same person. In fact, others in town too seem disconcertingly possessed by aliens intent on creating havoc and controlling minds. Meditative, unsettling, and deeply romantic, Kurosawa’s latest takes to body snatching to redeem humanity of its emotional and spiritual stasis.

BEFORE WE VANISH

Pakistani Canadian filmmaker Arshad Khan lays bare his struggle reconciling his sexual identity with his father, a devout Muslim. Combining family home video, animation, Bollywood clips, and new footage, ABU recounts a family history across two countries and a personal journey from victim to activist.

ABU

A middle-aged woman in Tokyo escapes dull office life when she chances upon an English class taught by a charming American. Soon she’s renamed Lucy, she develops a penchant for hug-hellos, and she’s following a postcard from San Diego to find love, adventure, and her spunky niece in Southern California.

THE PROBLEM WITH APU

With her mother gone, 11-year-old Tomo lives with uncle Mako and his partner Rinko. In this big-hearted and empathetic family dramedy, Tomo and Rinko develop a bond which they hope will lead to the warmth and maternal love for which both have been longing.

CLOSE-KNIT

In high school, there are victims and victimizers, enablers and bystanders. There are monsters too: figurative ones that feed on trouble, and literal ones that feed on human flesh. When some of the former inadvertently capture one of the latter, the real monstrosity materializes. From Taiwan’s most popular novelist-turned-director comes a savage comedy of adolescence run amuck.